Chapter Four: Broadcast of Hope

The three hardened pieces of metal easily blew through the lock, spells and all, thankfully catching the six guards totally by surprise. Perhaps not her attempted escape, but the noise and manner at the very least.

The Zebras were the first to react, leveling some rather shiny black rifles at her, followed by the griffins. Clad in full-bodied metal armor, their helmets looked like a newly developed composite material, certainly the sign of a nation gearing for war.

Her battle-saddle clicked as it slotted in the small supply of non-lethal rounds, Light’s SATS targeting the four most worrisome guards first. They got three rounds each to the head. The hardened plastic balls dented the helmets, having enough force to crack bone without armor. Thankfully it was enough to punch through the anti-concussive spells Light assumed was on the protective material.

The griffins and ponies still had metal armor adorning their heads and sides; but starting to show signs of upgrading. Thicker plates were installed at their vitals, and the helmets were a tad bulkier with added padding and metal mesh.

Not that it made any difference as the rounds slammed into their helmeted heads.

All six went down with a cacophony of groans, leaving Light to trot off down the hall towards the large staircase, which she assumed led to the delegates living quarters.

What she hadn’t planned on, of all things, was Celestia pausing in the middle of the hallway as she turned to look at the armored mare. There were no other individuals in the room; Celestia standing between Light and the staircase; as well as the two halls on either side.

“Light, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t leave the room….” The Alicorn quipped, looking at the battle-worn mare with an oddly expectant gaze.

“Eh. I’m a troublemaker. However, I need to go. So..” Light huffed, then stopped, staring at the ruler.
She knew. Not just Light’s escape plan; but what had to be done. There was a strange knowing in Celestia’s eyes…

As the Alicorn’s eyes stared at the weapon on Light’s side, the mare felt the usual hatred slide away. In that moment, she understood.

This powerful Alicorn who could move the sun, was bound by what had to be infuriating rules and protocol, even as she could see what had to be done. It wasn’t a matter of not wanting to help. It was a matter of being unable to; because one option would cause more harm than good.

Why else would she be here, just when Light was about to try and ‘storm the gates’ as it were?
And why else was Celestia staring at the gun, and then back to Light, the faintest of nods rocking her head.
Light gripped the bit in her mouth- swinging the gun to point at Celestia as an idea blossomed.

“I need information. Where are the recordings of these sessions, and where can they be broadcast? Do I have to go to each delegate to get the recordings?” Light growled, staring at her, still a bit on guard.

“Do you promise not to kill me or any of my ponies if I tell you? Same with the other delegates? I can’t guarantee they won’t try the same however.”

Celestia replied almost instantly; far too quickly for Light to have caught her off guard.
Oh that sly mare. She had read Light like a book, or guessed very, very well. She’d have to have a reason to divulge anything of course…

“…I promise that I won’t do anything to kill them. I don’t want to. If someone dies, it isn’t because I wanted it, if you tell me what I need to know.”
That seemed to satisfy Celestia as she continued.

“You need not attack the other delegates. The recordings of the entire session are on the same floor as the broadcasting tower; one up a long flight of stairs of course. They were being copied for backups, as was agreed upon. Once up the stairs, down the hall, fifth door on the right, and then the fifth floor up.”

Light nodded, promptly trotting past Celestia.
“Go. Do what I cannot, and good luck.” The alicorn whispered out of the corner of her mouth, adding quite a bit of spring to Light’s step.

Bound by protocol and the need to maintain balance with everyone…that must be maddening. Somehow Light could imagine Celestia rather giddy at being able to finally push something through that needed to be done, instead of tied up in increasingly lengthy court papers.

Then again, all had happened so that Light would take the blame.

Not that it mattered.
The only guard she ran into until the fifth upper floor was easily dealt with, caught as he was running around a corner.
“…Sorry, sorry….” Light grumbled as the moaning stallion was pushed halfway into a closet, the helmet dented by Light’s surprise kick from behind a pillar.

Headache, but not dead or even severely injured. Just out cold.

The main door to the fifth floor was locked; but once again, if there had been any magic that was to prevent it being picked, it was deactivated. It only took a quick peek around the corner after exiting the staircase to get a brief layout.

The floor with the recordings and broadcasting staircase though, were quite heavily guarded. A total of eight guards on the outside, each pair stationed at the four doors set in the dark blue stone of the corridor. The hall was windowless, light provided by flickering torches that were stuck to walls on dulled silver braziers. Quite an odd change in color scheme.

Judging from the sounds behind her, Light didn’t have much time. Her not-so-stealthy-approach had finally been discovered. But this precious minute or two was all she needed.

Jumping out from the stairway, she swung the battle saddle into position, targeting each of the ponies with a short burst.

The weapon barked as the guards lunged at her with only a moment’s hesitation. She could respect that professionalism at least. Each was hit with four rounds of non-lethal shot. Their armor and hides bruised, they were laid out flat on the floor with groans. Half of the shots had targeted their helmeted heads.

Considering the dents in the metal, these non-lethal rounds were at the limit of their effectiveness of the ‘non’ part of their classification.
The door to her right was heavily fortified- the lock no doubt protected by layers of spells on top of that.

Switching to live ammunition, Light slammed an armored hoof onto the door.
“Open the door, or I blast it open on three. ONE. TWO THR-“

The door opened, and a poor young stallion shaking in his slightly–oversized armor stared at the determined mare with wide eyes. From his rank, he was a private; and a fairly new one at that.

“I’m going to have to knock you out now, you know that right?” Light asked, stepping closer.

The guard’s head had started to imitated a woodpecker, barely finishing the motion as Light turned and slammed a hoof onto the side of his helmet.

After dragging him outside and closing the door, the mare threw the locking mechanisms into place. Massive metal bars slid into the walls, the door sealing the room against the outside world. The mare then examined the massive array of consoles in front of her. Multiple keyboards, crystal screens, and then to her right, a strange collection of those same devices all bundled into an eerie green-glowing console.

On the metal desk, a series of small disks were placed in a clear glass container; the same number of disks as the delegates plus one.
Perfect. Celestia’s address was included.

Light opened the clear container to retrieve the disks, looking over the labels. The writing was in all different languages; Zebra, Griffin, Equestrian…

She plugged one disk into a receptacle; the one labeled ‘Celestia.’

To her surprise, it wasn’t just the Princess’s speech, but the entirety of Light’s arrival and explanation, as far as she could tell.

Ejecting the disk, Light looked around for any sort of broadcast gear- and finally turned to look at the strange glowing console. It didn’t match the other desk, thick cables leading up through the ceiling past the multiple monitors.

She pressed the large button in the center of the console- and the main center screen lit up with a crackling fuzz. It seemed to be configured for ease of use, only one encrypted password locking it.
Light’s pipbuck made short work of that though.

http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=IaK4-TkZmKU&p=n#/57;192] Thematic Music: Auto-loops, recommend listening for the rest of the chapter.

Her breath caught in her chest as Light read the words that flashed across the screen.
‘ Emergency Broadcast Console Enabled. Please select region for message. ’
There were options for Equestrian lands, Griffin, Minotaur, Zebra, Yak, Dragon, but to name a few, and at the bottom of the list….

‘ Broadcast To All Regions
With shaking hooves, the mare selected the last option, eyes locked onto the screen as someone began to hammer on the door outside.

WARNING. THIS ACTION IS TO BE ONLY USED IN EMERGENCIES. MISUSE WILL BE PUNISHABLE TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE AND UNDER MULTIPLE COURTS OF LAW.

Continue?

Light let out a huff, stabbing at the key in front of her.

My time is almost up ready. Judge me all you want….

She tapped the continue option, and a slot opened for a single disk. Frowning, the mare tapped a key or two, searching for any other options.

Bingo

‘ Multiple media device option selected. Please insert all disks, one after another, as prompted. A final play of the footage will then be available to review before sending.

The precious minutes it took waiting for the computer to upload each disk had the hair on Light’s nape stick up on end, the hammering at the door continuing to grow louder and louder. The main guard detachments must have been roused, because the door began to shudder with the impacts of spells or explosives.

Finally the last disk was ejected, and more options began to scroll across the screen in sickly green text.

‘ Please review footage and select broadcasting and translation options. Record last minute remarks when prompted. ’

Using the ‘fast forward’ option, Light looked through some of the footage; putting the delegate’s speeches first, and then her entire arrival and exchange at the end. She was about to proceed, when her hoof hovered over the button in doubt.

It’s not enough. Something else at the beginning…

Something inside her drove Light to press the record button, even as the door shuddered under more impacts.

She stared into the camera, the soulless lenses gazing back at her.

“To anypony, to anyone out there, please listen to me. My name….” She paused, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“My name is Night Light. I won’t be born for another few hundred years. You all know time spells exist, so you know it’s at least possible for me to be here. Now listen to me, please. What I have managed to send to you, to the ponies, griffins, zebras, and all other races out there, is a second chance.”

Through the nerves, through the dulled emotions that such heinous violence in her life had caused, a slight warmth blossomed in Light’s chest, infusing her words with a desperate, begging and genuine aura of hope. Her own flesh and blood began to fade slightly, the time spell beginning to destabilize.

Within a few minutes, her time would be done.

“My life is over. My life was lived in the place that will be shown to you. A land of death, of hate, of pain. Love, friendship…those all die in the Wasteland.

You all deserve better. This message contains the speeches your leaders were supposed to show you. Maybe some of them would, but some probably wouldn’t, in the name of ‘progress’ or their own prejudice. I can’t take that chance. My family deserved better. You all deserve better.” She paused, the hammering of the door now causing something to crack and groan. Another pulsing, and her hooves fell through the console briefly, becoming immaterial for a few moments.

“Don’t let a few decide the fate of you all. Pull together, and just learn to respect each other, if nothing else. I’ve seen the blood of pony, griffin, and zebra run over my hooves in battle, and when it’s all said and done, our blood is all the same color. Don’t let your differences make you forget that.”

A few tears blossomed in Light’s eyes, trickling down her cheeks.

“I made a promise that I would give everything for this chance, your chance. My time is now up. Please, I have seen the world where hate and war win. You all can make a different future, one brighter than any I could imagine. You can do it, each and every one of you. Work together, choose to build a new future and brighter world as one voice. I leave that choice in your hooves, your claws, your hands.”

As the door began to buckle, Light selected the Translate all automatically option, a time and length setting, then a final confirmation.

‘ Large file selected. Upload commencing.Settings are as follows: Broadcast to all available locations on loop. Override all local channels. Continue broadcasting for maximum length after power failure or canceled transmission. WARNING. Insufficient power to broadcast to all locations. Continue?

It took three tries before her semi-solid hooves pressed the confirmation, her body beginning to fade.

The small room then lit up with bright, harsh lights, the console in front of her surging with power.

‘ Uploading and broadcasting, stand by. WARNING, insufficient power….

Light then sagged to the floor, the entire world feeling rather faint and spongy as her body and mind began to be frayed across time and space. The loading bar, along with the warning, continued to scroll across the screen…

Would it be enough? How far would it reach?

“Goodbye Light, or rather, Night Light, it has been a pleasure. But I have to ask…before you go, why all this trouble? Why risk it all just to transmit a message that might not even get through? I heard something about…..giving everything?” A smug, almost sadly voiced question tickled her ears.

Standing over the fading earth pony, Discord played with a ball of yarn that was fraying into hundreds of strands. His gaze wandered to the console, and then back to Light, whom was looking at the loading bar earnestly.

“I made a promise.” Was all she could say before fading almost out of sight once again. The Draconequus let out a slight huff at her reply.

“Well I know one pony who would appreciate your honestly. Now…you’ve done all you can do, it would seem. Your options have ended, at least for now.” The Draconequus droned, walking over to the computer. He then examined the ball of yarn-which began to flow like a small river between his claws.

“Ended, perhaps, but rest easy, it looks like you did move the course of the river. By how much I cannot tell yet. However, here is a bit of a thank you from me, to make that river of time speed up. Remember these words. ‘Go and see.’”

As her world began to fade to black, Light saw the God of Chaos reach a glowing claw and stab it into the console, a few final words on the screen causing her to smile before the world faded.
‘ Power levels at optimal levels. Broadcasting at full strength. All locations receiving transmission.

Standing over the faint outline of the earth pony, Discord hummed, looking at the ball of yarn before placing it in the center of the ghostly pony.

“Consider that as reparations for not making my future occupation a pin cushioned magical battery. And also, thank you for preventing a close friend from a tortured fate as a tree.” He sighed, fiddling with the ball of yarn until the strands were all connected once again.

“Goodness, I’ve been hanging around Fluttershy a bit too much, if such thing is possible. Well, either way, enjoy that bit of chaos in your life Night Light. Use your time well. I’ll see you….” He couldn’t help but crack a grin. “Sometime.

When the guards broke into the room moments later, they found it empty; save a black screen displaying the green text; Console locked; broadcasting emergency message with time-locked access codes. Time until transmission available for shutdown; two hours.

In the main throne room, Celestia had to exercise every ounce of willpower in her being to not hug Luna, who now sat next to her, utterly perplexed.

“Sister, what has gone on? I have only learned bits and pieces….”

Celestia choked back a few tears, hearing a message play across any and all screens in the castle. It spread to any and all receivers of audio and visual media across the entire known world.

That was how the emergency broadcast system had been designed, after all. They were supposed to disconnect it from the other nation’s emergency grids within a few months; as per some agreements that were suppose to be discussed today. It would seem Light had been here just in time.

Whether due to a glitch, or some mischievous meddling, the first part of Light’s message was shown with her frozen expression. Eyes yearning for peace, and a few soon to be shed tears as she hopefully looked into the camera, hoping her last moments would be spent convincing someone, anyone, to listen.

“To anypony, to anyone out there, please listen to me….”

At seeing Light’s face, the solar princess couldn’t help but drape a hoof over and pull Luna close, emotion clogging her throat, even as other delegates bickered and panicked as their honest words were used for their true intent.

“We get a second chance Luna. We get a second chance…We all do.”

From Griffinstone to Manehatten, from Mount. Aris to Yakyakistan, radios and screens sent Night Light’s desperate plea for hope soaring into the skies. Amidst the drums of war, hope had been born once again from the ashes. And like a phoenix who crowed happily above Canterlot, it soared to every ear who would listen, and every eye who would see Light’s face looking back at them.

Author's Note

Inserted music which makes the mood. Is what I think would fit to be Night Light's theme.
Feedback always appreciated! I know this story is an odd one, but strangely has meant quite a bit to me writing it. Had to re-write/edit it before resubmitting, because I wanted Night Light to have her story.
The next chapter will be the final one.